Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
skelo
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by skelo »

No, just more proficient at risk assessment and mitigation. i.e. justhave a bit more common sense than before!
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foxyrider
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by foxyrider »

I've never been a particular risk taker, trips to 3rd world countries have never appealed to me. Deciding to actually go out and consciously put myself at risk isn't something I do.

Out on the road I won't say that i've tamed my riding particularly although I am consciously more aware of what could happen. So I may go a bit slower on wet greasy lanes but give me dry and i'll still fling myself down mountainsides at comparatively high speeds (well 50-55mph)
Convention? what's that then?
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Psamathe
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by Psamathe »

foxyrider wrote:I've never been a particular risk taker, trips to 3rd world countries have never appealed to me. Deciding to actually go out and consciously put myself at risk isn't something I do.....

For me it isn't about "consciously put myself at risk" but about wanting to see something, visit somewhere and that might not always be as "safe" as watching it on TV.

Ian
simonhill
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by simonhill »

It's all relative (or maybe personal). I'd rather cycle through Hanoi where I understand the rules than throw myself downhill at 55 mph. I rarely reach that in kph. To me that is reckless (no offence, each to their own, etc).

When touring, I am pretty risk adverse. I certainly go to places that are considered risky, but once there I take care. Take care with possessions, where I stay, what I eat, where and how I ride etc. I am also careful off bike to avoid injury eg twisting ankle while scrambling over ruins. Getting sick or injured in far flung lands can be very serious, so in this respect I am far from reckless. Not sure if more so with age, but I am probably more aware.

The OP was asking about going touring, but I am certainly more careful (less risk) with things like my house insurance, house security, etc.

I wonder if less adventurous with age would have been a better question.
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MrsHJ
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by MrsHJ »

As a woman whilst I doubt there is a meaningful change in statistical risk I feel safer in some ways. I no longer receive much attention on my bike- I used to get lots of running commentary from white van drivers (and some more serious aggro). Generally people are helpful to middle aged women (they no longer wave their pants out the windows like at some army training place we once cycled past in the Spanish pyrenees!). In other ways though I think the roads are busier and the expectations have changed/drivers seem to be more aggressive so I've gone from a road cyclist at a reasonable pace to more of a cycle path cyclist. I came to the conclusion some years ago that I've done so much that I couldn't complain if my time was up but I think I've become less physically capable of taking risks!
mercalia
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by mercalia »

I just dont have the energy to take risks, mostly :wink:
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pjclinch
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by pjclinch »

1982john wrote:I think it's a well known phenomenon that younger people are more open to taking risks


"Learning that we're only immortal for a limited time", to quote a Neil Peart lyric...
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francovendee
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by francovendee »

Overall I think I do take less risks, not because I rationalise the dangers more but because any physical damage I sustain takes much longer to heal and go away.
pete75
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by pete75 »

landsurfer wrote:
yostumpy wrote:So you've not 'given up'. more, 'cut right back'? So you now enjoy a small drink as a treat, rather than a lot, as a necessity? I'm trying this at the moment, but failing BIG TIME? Been trying to share a can of lager with swmbo, at meal times, but Friday popped out! and had 3 pints of 'Old Rosie @ 7.5% and a large bottle of french beer when I got in. Next day I thought to myself...'Why did I do that?' What in ME said I want a 3 rd pint.....then another bottle at home.. Is it a need for the alcohol? or glutony? What were your thoughts when you decided to slow down?


I found that I just couldn't have the one .... one led to 2 , to 3 etc. No bottle opened ever sealed up ... and i only drink at home .... so i've stopped ...


Same here and I've stopped. Never had any problem with not drinking but once started - I guess you know what I mean. What I've found is that many social events are bloody boring without drinking and a lot of people are irritating when they're under the influence and you're not.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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meic
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by meic »

A lot of these things are nowhere near as risky as people feel they are.
It is often fear of the unfamiliar. I dont mean in a xenophobic way, so much as we are numb to the risks of our present day to day existence.
When traveling the world the most dangerous locations that I traveled through were all before I climbed on the plane at Heathrow and after I climbed back off one in the same place.
The media fills you with a false impression of your destination, they can happily ignore 99.999% of the population and land mass of any country that you visit and make it seem as if the bad .001% is typical and representative.

There is an ageism aspect, as a youngster I was much happier to put trust in being accommodated because that was a more common way of life with a younger generation, there were not many older people on the same circuits and it wasnt a lifestyle that appeals when you get older.

The risks of throwing a rucksack on your back and flying off into the big wild wonder are greatly exaggerated. The discomfort of doing it on a budget may not be so exaggerated.

In the areas of my life where I really did take risks that was pretty much put to an end when a child was born, at that point it started to matter whether I lived or died.
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leftpoole
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by leftpoole »

Hello,
When I was young I had a spell as a motorcycle racer.
When I was a little older I had a spell as a motor car racer.
As I grew older I became a Driving Instructor (ADI) and qualified as an Institute of advanced motoring tutor.
I was indeed pretty good at these activities.
I am 68 and fast approaching old age (in my opinion).
Now I still drive pretty fast but, I am very aware that I no longer take the chances or indeed risks that I once took.
As a Cyclist I now have spent much less time on a cycle because of my health, but I am very very much aware of the risks now and wonder how on Earth I have stayed alive through late 1960s and 1970s motorcycle/car racing . Then of course the dangers of cycling!
I have been pretty fortunate to stay out of any major accidents apart from a motorcycle crash which left me with spine deformity.
Cycling dangerous? Risky? Yes indeed, but of course it is dependent upon the region and type of road cycling on.
However, getting back to the point in question. Then the answer most certainly is 'yes' as one gets older, sensibility or fright takes over and less risk taking occurs.
Regards,
John
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

I did not take so many risks even when I was young
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mjr
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by mjr »

leftpoole wrote:Cycling dangerous? Risky? Yes indeed, but of course it is dependent upon the region and type of road cycling on.

No, in general, cycling is not dangerous. Of course, you can pump up the risk by riding (quite legally) along a fasty-nasty quasi-motorway, but few do that. To conclude that cycling is dangerous suggests denominator neglect.

pete75 wrote:
landsurfer wrote:
yostumpy wrote:Next day I thought to myself...'Why did I do that?' What in ME said I want a 3 rd pint.....then another bottle at home.. Is it a need for the alcohol? or glutony? What were your thoughts when you decided to slow down?


I found that I just couldn't have the one .... one led to 2 , to 3 etc. No bottle opened ever sealed up ... and i only drink at home .... so i've stopped ...


Same here and I've stopped. Never had any problem with not drinking but once started - I guess you know what I mean. What I've found is that many social events are bloody boring without drinking and a lot of people are irritating when they're under the influence and you're not.

Stopping is a fine coping strategy and may be the only possible one for some people, but I suspect that some people would be better off figuring out what in them is causing this and tackling it before it maybe exhibits itself in other excesses, such as cycling round the world ;)

That said, I don't think short-term stop/starts like Stoptober or Dry January are healthy, as loads of people seem to bookend them with binges and view not drinking alcohol as some sort of mammoth effort. Are they the alcohol equivalent of charity bike rides?

It's hard for others to help with rebalancing attitude, though, especially over the internet. A good doctor may be able to advise on good questions to ask oneself but ultimately, I feel only yostumpy can say what in yostumpy said a 3rd pint and extra bottle were desired.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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pete75
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by pete75 »

mjr wrote:
pete75 wrote:
landsurfer wrote:
I found that I just couldn't have the one .... one led to 2 , to 3 etc. No bottle opened ever sealed up ... and i only drink at home .... so i've stopped ...


Same here and I've stopped. Never had any problem with not drinking but once started - I guess you know what I mean. What I've found is that many social events are bloody boring without drinking and a lot of people are irritating when they're under the influence and you're not.

Stopping is a fine coping strategy and may be the only possible one for some people, but I suspect that some people would be better off figuring out what in them is causing this and tackling it before it maybe exhibits itself in other excesses, such as cycling round the world ;)



Nowt wrong with cycling round the world if you have the time and inclination. Why are you agin it?
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
1982john
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Re: Do you find it harder to take risks as you get older?

Post by 1982john »

pete75 wrote:
mjr wrote:
pete75 wrote:
Same here and I've stopped. Never had any problem with not drinking but once started - I guess you know what I mean. What I've found is that many social events are bloody boring without drinking and a lot of people are irritating when they're under the influence and you're not.

Stopping is a fine coping strategy and may be the only possible one for some people, but I suspect that some people would be better off figuring out what in them is causing this and tackling it before it maybe exhibits itself in other excesses, such as cycling round the world ;)



Nowt wrong with cycling round the world if you have the time and inclination. Why are you agin it?


There's nothing inherently bad with it. I think the question is why are you cycling around the world. For which I think there are good and bad answers.
I know someone who was a drinking / drug addict but gave it up but replaced the addiction with fitness. He ended up doing himself some harm (nothing detrimental) but because he couldn't control his desires he imported his problems with alcohol into his exercise regime.
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